10 Fuel-Sipping Hatchbacks Worth Having In 2016
Want to cut fuel costs but still cram in a bunch of cargo? Welcome to the hatchback.
Sure, average gas prices have drifted down below $2, according to AAA. It’s why 16.7% more of you bought SUVs and crossovers last year than you did in 2015. It’s also why car sales declined 2.2% while light-duty truck sales – including SUVs and crossovers – jumped 13.1%. However, despite a 6% jump in vehicle sales in 2016, the automotive industry shouldn’t get too giddy about the U.S. public’s vehicle buying habits.
Fuel efficiency standards still need to make it to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, as the Environmental Protection Agency has mandated. However, the average fuel economy (window-sticker value) of new vehicles sold in 2015 was 25.3 mpg, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. That’s still less than halfway to the EPA and Department of Transportation’s goal that they set back in 2012, though it beats the roughly 19 miles per gallon that the Department of Transportation measured for the same pool of vehicles in 1995. It’s also closing in on double the average mileage of the light-duty vehicles on U.S. roads in 1980.
That standard exists, because gasoline pricing simply isn’t going to stay this way. We saw prices topping $4 a gallon less than a decade ago, and similar global upheaval can send them back there again. The same forces manipulating oil prices below $30 a barrel can send it soaring above $60 by year’s end. Besides, carbuyers aren’t always going to be in a position where 15 to 20 gallons of gasoline is a luxury they can always afford.
If you still need to haul people and stuff around, you don’t need to upsize to the biggest passenger vehicle they can find? There are a whole lot of hatchbacks out there that fit an incredible amount of cargo and personnel into their comparatively tiny bodies. We consulted with the folks at Edmunds and the Environmental Protection Agency’s FuelEconomy.gov and found ten vehicles that pack a whole lot of size and efficiency under the hatch:
Starting price: $21,700
Miles per gallon: TBD (was a combined 32 mpg in the last model year)
Maximum cargo space: 40 cubic feet
Small cars were once underpowered, cramped and inherently bad vehicle fit only for game show giveaways. As films like 2002’s Austin Powers: Goldmember and 2003'sThe Italian Job showed U.S. audiences, however, a modernized take on the classic British Mini could not only be fuel-efficient, but also fun and fast at the same time.
The Mini’s toys, including Mini Connected entertainment center featuring a 6.5-inch high-definition display, Apple-designed Bluetooth interface and app for smartphone and iTunes connectivity and optional GPS all make this remarkably zippy 121 horsepower subcompact a fun ride. The Sirius satellite radio, Pandora and HD radio just provide the soundtrack.
Starting price: $29,170 (with incentives)
Miles per gallon equivalent: 110 city, 99 highway, 105 combined
Electric charge range: 76 miles
Maximum cargo space: 44.8 cubic feet
By taking the frame of its popular, existing focus, stripping out the combustion engine and giving it all the cool electronic and mobile-based features EV owners have come to expect, Ford’s begun the arduous task of carving a niche for itself in this increasingly crowded market.
How do you do that, you ask? By taking aim at the other cost-effective electric car on the road. While the Focus Electric is a full $11,000 more expensive than the Nissan LEAF, the company takes great pains to point out that its high-capacity charger can juice up the Focus in half the time it takes the LEAF to get a full charge. Oh, and it has far more cargo space than the Leaf’s 30 cubic feet. During a time when electric vehicle advancements are occurring incrementally and U.S. drivers’ patience with both range and charging is still being tested, the Focus’s space and fast charging speed may be the deciding factors.
8. 2016 Mazda3
Starting price: $18,545
Miles per gallon: 30 city, 40 highway, 35 combined
Maximum cargo space: 47.1 cubic feet
The Mazda 3 contains a striking amount of power in an extremely small space. A 2-liter engine gives this little hatch 155 horsepower, which basically dusts most vehicles in its class while still putting up nearly 36 miles per gallon of fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, even this vehicle’s lesser trims come with standard Bluetooth, six-speaker audio and the Mazda Connect system with 7-inch full color touchscreen, multi-function Commander control, voice command, HD Radio, Pandora, auto text and voice reply and E911 emergency notification. The 12 cubic feet of trunk space isn’t great, but it works out just fine if you travel light.
Starting price: $14,745
Miles per gallon: 27 city, 38 highway, 32.5 combined
Maximum cargo space: 47.5 cubic feet
Ask someone with gray hair about Hyundai subcompacts, and he’ll likely tell you about the Hyundai Excel that he either won on Hollywood Squares or delivered pizzas in until the universal joints sounded like baseball cards jammed in the spokes of a bicycle. Just like all of those aforementioned references, that image of the stripped-down economy-priced Excel is incredibly dated. This still isn’t an incredibly fun car to drive, but it gets roughly 31 miles per gallon combined, is covered by that lengthy Hyundai/Kia warranty and has nearly 14 cubic feet of trunk space as a sedan and a whopping 21 cubic feet as a hatchback. The technology is limited to satellite radio and USB ports, but maybe you can use that money your saving to upgrade to something a bit nicer.
Starting price: $14,345
Miles per gallon: 26 city, 35 highway, 30.5 combined
Maximum cargo space: 47.7 cubic feet
The Sonic has a comfortable ride, smooth steering, up to 47.7 cubic feet of cargo space and nearly 40 miles per gallon of highway mileage in the turbo version. Available WiFi, 7-inch touchscreen, Siri Eyes-Free voice control, navigation, rearview cameras, collision alert and OnStar information and assistance just make it a little more enticing to get into this little car.
5. 2016 Kia Rio
Starting price: $14,165
Miles per gallon: 27 city, 37 highway, 32 combined
Maximum cargo space: 49.8 cubic feet
Kia sales were up 8% last year, but the Kia Rio’s combined 32 miles per gallon are always in demand. With remote keyless entry, Bluetooth, sport suspension a rearview camera and Kia’s UVO entertainment and information system, Sirius-XM satellite radio, heated power-folding mirrors, LED lights, paddle shifters and more, this sporty little package gives away a lot for the money.
Ordinarily, the ten-year warranty on the power train and five-year warranty on everything else are the big lures for members of the Hyundai family, but this price will do in a pinch.
Starting price: $15,890
Miles per gallon equivalent: 33 city, 41 highway, 37 combined
Maximum cargo space: 52.7 cubic feet
One of the subcompacts that started the class’s renaissance, the colorful and convenient Fit got a complete revamp that makes it an incredibly worthy tailgate vehicle despite its size. Its cargo space with the seats down actually decreased from 57.3 cubic feet last year, but the seats get a little more modular, to the point that the from passenger seat folds back to serve as a footrest for a passenger in the back who wants to sleep for this leg of the trip. Blind-spot cameras, a multi-angle rearview camera, touchscreen audio system, Bluetooth connectivity, an app suite, leather-trimmed and heated seats, a moonroof and satellite navigation all make for a pleasant, comfortable ride for both driver and passenger.
3. 2016 Mercedes-Benz B-Class electric drive
Starting price: $41,450 with incentives
Miles per gallon equivalent: 85 city, 82 highway, 83.5 combined
Electric charge range: 87 miles
Maximum cargo space: 51.4 cubic feet
Yes, it’s kind of on the small side and looks a bit like a luxury Nissan Leaf, but it generates 177 horsepower and has more than 50 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats down, power front seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, HD radio, Bluetooth streaming and a mobile app to keep track of its diagnostic information remotely. Right now, the B-Class electric drive is only available in 11 states (California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont), but it’s a low-end option for those seeking efficient Mercedes-Benz luxury. Unfortunately, most of the “luxury” is optional.
Starting price: $18,295
Miles per gallon: 28 city, 37 highway, 32.5 combined
Maximum cargo space: 52.4 cubic feet
The Subaru Outback was once simply a Subaru Legacy wagon. The Subaru Forester was basically just a very tall version of a wagon in its earliest days. The Crosstrek XV wants to say it’s a crossover, but it basically looks like a wagon.
That makes the fuel-sipping stretched version of the Impreza the last true wagon being sold by a company that was basically built on them. It also makes both the sedan and wagon the most-efficient vehicles that all-wheel-drive-loving Subaru produces. This isn’t surprising, considering the Impreza is Subaru’s small car and is just all it’s other vehicles’ features – including a standard multi-function display, Starlink touchscreen communications and entertainment package and rearview camera – shoved into a sporty little package, but it has to be comforting to people who didn’t pay nearly $7,000 extra for a Crosstrek hybrid that still doesn’t match this vehicle’s mileage.
Starting price: $21,495 after incentives
Miles per gallon equivalent: 126 city, 105 highway, 115.5 combined
Electric charge range: 83 miles
Maximum cargo space: 52.7 cubic feet
Forget the dubious diesel, VW’s electric compact is the truth.
Standard features including an electrically heated windshield, full LED headlights with LED Daytime Running Lights, rearview camera, Media Device Interface (MDI) with iPod cable, navigation system with 5.8" touchscreen with proximity sensors and voice control, Volkswagen Car-Net connected car features with e-Golf functions, keyless access with push-button start and heated front seats just blend in seemlessly. The 115-horsepower engine can be sluggish for those used to a little more high-octane German engineering, but a four-hour “slow” charge and a 30-minute direct-current quick charge compensate for that lack of pep.
This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
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